The Counterattack of a Wealthy Family's Substitute

Liang Pingyin's voice choked for a moment, and she let out a burp before continuing, "I don't understand why... why Yao Yingxi, having already gotten Xi Yuanchen, would still treat me like this, wanting to kill me."

She spoke haltingly, her expression one of overwhelming sadness.

Liu Xin gently patted her back to comfort her: "It's all in the past. You and Xiao Zhe are still young, you can have children in the future. As for Yao Yingxi, we will make her pay with her life even if it costs us everything."

Liu Xin gritted her teeth as she said that last sentence. If Yao Yingxi were beside her, she probably would have loved to be killed by her to vent her anger.

"What did you say to Pingyin just now? What made her so emotional?" Liang Yuansheng asked Zhao Zhe beside him in a low voice. If Zhao Zhe hadn't said something, Liang Pingyin wouldn't have said those things.

That's his daughter, whom he used to cherish and raise.

“I know that you and Pingyin were forced into this situation back then, but if you hadn’t done that when you were young, you wouldn’t have ended up together.” After a pause, Liang Yuansheng continued, “I know Pingyin isn’t the person you love, but I hope you won’t say anything hurtful to her in the future, not for any other reason than for the sake of the child you lost.”

"Mom, I want him out. I don't want to see him. Get out!" Liang Pingyin noticed Zhao Zhe, pointed at her, and became even more agitated.

She was afraid that Zhao Zhe would see through her completely, even though she didn't know where Zhao Zhe had heard or what he had heard to make that guess.

Liu Xin looked at Zhao Zhe with a troubled expression.

Liang Yuansheng scolded, "Xiao Zhe is your fiancé. Even if he said something wrong, you two should be tolerant of each other."

Zhao Zhe spoke up: "Bi Fu, it's alright. I have something to do, so I'll go out first. Call me if you need anything." If it weren't for the fear of causing gossip and damaging his father's reputation, and his mother's urging, he wouldn't have wanted to come here.

Liang Yuansheng looked at Liang Pingyin and could only nod: "Alright, Xiao Zhe, I'm sorry, Pingyin is in a bad mood and is also weak. Please bear with her."

Zhao Zhe nodded: "It's alright, Uncle. I misspoke just now, which made her so emotional. I'll be going now. Please take good care of her."

After giving him a brief instruction, Zhao Zhe opened the door and went out.

He had to be thorough with the formalities, after all, Liang Pingyin's public press conference was a result of their growing affection over time; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths.

Zhao Zhe left the ward and walked towards the elevator.

His phone suddenly rang, and he stopped and took it out of his pocket.

Upon seeing the number displayed, he quickly answered the call. Before the person on the other end could speak, Zhao Zhe asked, "Did you find it?"

"The surveillance footage was confiscated by the GP and we can't get it."

"Detain her? I understand." Hanging up the phone, Zhao Zhe entered the elevator. He had someone investigate this matter simply to get to the bottom of things, especially after testing Liang Pingyin earlier. He didn't know if she was feeling guilty and emotional, or genuinely emotional because she had lost her child.

On the other side, Xi Yuanchen was helping Yao Yingxi learn to cook in the kitchen when his phone rang.

Normally, Xi Yuanchen would have asked Yao Yingxi to answer the phone for him. But today was different.

"Your phone is ringing, wash your hands quickly." The two of them were preparing braised duck, and Xi Yuanchen's hands were a little dirty.

He didn't ask Yao Yingxi to answer the phone for him, and Yao Yingxi didn't rush to offer to help either, but just urged him on.

Xi Yuanchen smiled, washed his hands, kissed her forehead, and turned to leave the kitchen.

Yao Yingxi watched Xi Yuanchen's departing figure, a sweet feeling welling up inside her.

Even if she didn't go out, she knew what the situation was like. How could she not understand the good intentions behind Xi Yuanchen staying home with her?

Xi Yuanchen went to the balcony, leaned against the balcony railing, and answered the phone: "How is it?"

"No eyewitnesses found? Okay, I understand." Xi Yuanchen's brows furrowed deeper as he spoke.

If things continue like this, anything the Zhao and Liang families do will be detrimental to Yao Yingxi.

He turned and looked downstairs, his feelings complicated.

Yao Yingxi put the marinated duck meat into the pressure cooker without seeing Xi Yuanchen come in. She turned around and walked out of the kitchen. Just as she was about to go upstairs, she saw Xi Yuanchen standing on the balcony with his back to her and a cigarette in his hand.

She turned back and walked towards the balcony.

The cigarette butt burned down to his fingertips, and Xi Yuanchen was startled by the pain. Coming to his senses, he quickly threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stubbed it out. He had just turned around to go back to the kitchen.

Seeing Yao Yingxi walking over, Xi Yuanchen smiled slightly and went over as well: "You put the duck meat in the pressure cooker?"

He has a good memory. Although he can't cook, he remembered it after Yao Yingxi mentioned it once.

Yao Yingxi nodded: "Whose call was that? Why are you out smoking? Is my situation really that serious?" She hadn't seen Xi Yuanchen working overtime recently, so it probably wasn't something to do with the company. What was bothering him was probably what happened to her yesterday.

Xi Yuanchen stepped forward and put his arm around Yao Yingxi: "There are no eyewitnesses to this matter. I'm worried that if the Zhao family and the Liang family don't get an explanation, it will be detrimental to you."

Yao Yingxi put her hand on his back and patted him gently to comfort him: "The incident happened yesterday, and there may be eyewitnesses. They may not know or may not want to offend the Zhao and Liang families. Just wait patiently. It doesn't matter if there aren't any. I didn't push Liang Pingyin. Let the police investigate. I believe justice will prevail."

Xi Yuanchen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded: "Okay."

He released Yao Yingxi and faced her, saying, "Let's continue cooking."

Yao Yingxi hummed in agreement, a faint smile on her face, but in a corner where Xi Yuanchen couldn't see, there was still some worry in her eyes.

As night fell and darkness quickly enveloped the sky, the two finished their meal and went upstairs. Once in their room, Xi Yuanchen urged Yao Yingxi, "Go take a shower."

Yao Yingxi nodded and was about to speak when Xi Yuanchen's phone rang, so she had to turn around and walk into the bathroom.

Xi Yuanchen took out his phone, glanced at the contact name, and his expression turned cold.

He walked towards the balcony while answering the phone.

"what's up?"

"Did you see today's news?" Xi Zhishen's voice came through the phone: "I don't know how you're handling this, but this matter has seriously affected the company's reputation. I don't care how you resolve it, if I see the company becoming a laughing stock because of your mistress tomorrow, don't blame me for being ruthless and doing something drastic."

Without even looking, one could tell how unpleasant Xi Zhishen's expression was.

"Isn't this the kind of impact you expected on the company?" Xi Yuanchen asked instead of answering.

"What do you mean?" Xi Zhishen asked coldly on the phone.

"You didn't call in the morning, you didn't call at noon, but only called to remind me when things had escalated to the point of being a big deal in the evening." Xi Yuanchen sneered, "You should know better than anyone what you're thinking."

Xi Zhishen frowned, about to speak, when Xi Yuanchen hung up the phone.

As soon as Xi Yuanchen returned to his room, Yao Yingxi came out of the bathroom, wearing beige loungewear that made her fair skin look even whiter, like a porcelain doll.

She met Xi Yuanchen's gaze, and a slight smile appeared on her lips: "Mr. Xi, it's your turn."

Xi Yuanchen nodded and walked into the bathroom.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Yao Yingxi leaned back on the sofa and glanced at the phone on the opposite table. She pondered for a moment, hesitated for a while, and then looked away.